Benin at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Benin competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's eleventh appearance at the Summer Olympics, with the exception of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal because of the African boycott.

Benin at the 2016 Summer Olympics
IOC code	BEN
NOC	Benin National Olympic and Sports Committee
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors	6 in 4 sports
Flag bearer	Yémi Apithy[1]
Medals	Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 0 Total 0
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024

Benin National Olympic and Sports Committee selected a team of six athletes, four men and two women, for the Games, competing in athletics, fencing, judo, and swimming. All of them made their maiden Olympic appearance, with sabre fencer Yémi Apithy leading the Benin team as the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.^[1][2] Benin, however, has yet to win its first Olympic medal.

Athletics (track and field)

Main articles: Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics and Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Benin athletes achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):^[3][4]

Key

• Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
• Q = Qualified for the next round
• q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
• NR = National record
• N/A = Round not applicable for the event
• Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Didier Kiki	Men's 200 m	22.27	7	Did not advance
Noélie Yarigo	Women's 800 m	1:59.12	4 q	1:59.78	5	Did not advance

Fencing

Sabre fencer Yémi Apithy led the Benin team in the opening ceremony.

Main articles: Fencing at the 2016 Summer Olympics and Fencing at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Following the completion of the Grand Prix finals, Benin has entered one fencer into the Olympic competition. Yémi Apithy claimed an Olympic spot in the men's sabre as one of the two highest-ranked fencers from Africa outside the world's top 14 in the FIE Adjusted Official Rankings, signifying the country's debut in the sport.^[5]

Athlete	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Yémi Apithy	Men's sabre	Hartung (GER) L 9–15	Did not advance

Judo

Main articles: Judo at the 2016 Summer Olympics and Judo at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Benin qualified one judoka for the men's middleweight category (90 kg) at the Games. Celtus Dossou Yovo earned a continental quota spot from the African region as Benin's top-ranked judoka outside of direct qualifying position in the IJF World Ranking List of 30 May 2016.^[6][7]

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Celtus Dossou Yovo	Men's −90 kg	Bye	Dias (POR) W 100–001	Nyman (SWE) L 000–100	Did not advance

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Benin received universality invitations from FINA to send two swimmers (one male and one female).^[2][8][9]

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Jules Bessan	Men's 50 m freestyle	27.32	77	Did not advance
Laraïba Seibou	Women's 50 m freestyle	33.01	77	Did not advance

References

1. "Le Côte-d'Orien Yémi Apithy sera le porte-drapeau du Bénin à Rio !" [Côte-d'Orien's Yémi Apithy will be Bénin's flag bearer in Rio] (in French). Le Bien Public. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
2. Tolomissi, Damien (27 May 2016). "Jeux Olympiques de Rio 2016 : Six athlètes béninois déjà qualifiés" [2016 Olympics: Six Benin athletes qualified] (in French). Bénin Monde Infos. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
3. "iaaf.org – Top Lists". IAAF. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
4. "IAAF Games of the XXX Olympiad – Rio 2016 Entry Standards" (PDF). IAAF. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
5. "Russia top as Olympic qualification by ranking ends". FIE. 5 April 2016. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
6. "IJF Officially Announces Qualified Athletes for Rio 2016 Olympic Games". International Judo Federation. 23 June 2016. Archived from the original on 7 July 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
7. Tolomissi, Damien (23 May 2016). "Jeux olympiques 2016 : Celtus Dossou-Yovo (-90kg), le nouveau qualifié pour le judo" [2016 Olympics: Celtus Dossou-Yovo (−90kg), newly qualified in judo] (in French). Bénin Monde Infos. Archived from the original on 26 May 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
8. "Swimming World Rankings". FINA. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
9. "Rio 2016 – FINA Swimming Qualification System" (PDF). Rio 2016. FINA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.

External links

Media related to Benin at the 2016 Summer Olympics at Wikimedia Commons

• Benin at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Rio2016.com. at the Wayback Machine (archived 24 August 2016)
• Benin at the 2016 Summer Olympics at SR/Olympics (archived)